How To Be Truly Seen In An Interview

If you’ve been applying for various jobs for the past few weeks, and you’ve finally bagged the important interview that you wanted – congratulations. This is a big deal! You need to know that you essentially only get one chance to impress them (no pressure!) But that’s the thing – it is a lot of pressure, and that can really get to you and cause you stress during the build-up of the big date. So how do you go about making sure you ace the interview? There are so many various pieces of advice that is available, how are you supposed to know what to listen to, and what to avoid?

Well, here are all the best tips that will secure you the job you want by making yourself seen on the day of the interview.

Take charge

You may think that the interviewer is the one that holds the power, but this is only partially the case. It’s very common for a recruiter to fall prey of unconscious biasty, allowing themselves to focus too heavily on experience rather than competence. While it is important, it’s not necessarily the be all and end all. So take it upon yourself to make sure that this doesn’t happen. Give them a reason to fall out of habit and look at the bigger picture of what you have to offer the company.

Always prepare

It’s no good turning up to an interview if you’re not thoroughly prepared. You can never put in too much of your free time into preparation. It’s your job to do as much research about the company as you can. The more you know, the better, because it will show them that you are invested and care to bother – as others won’t. Generic information isn’t enough, anyone can figure out a couple basic facts. Delve deeper and find out how the place is organised, the reason behind the business, the industry trends, and maybe even a little about the interviewer if you can. Look into the specific job challenges too so you can them give examples of why you’re the right fit.

Know your stuff

You can’t expect to get the job you want if you don’t have all the qualifications and skills that you need – this won’t get you to an interview in the first place, let alone give you a chance of getting the job. You don’t necessarily have to go back to school though to do this, you can find leadership mba online courses that fit in around your busy schedule so that you don’t have to worry about taking time out of what you normally do, as you can squeeze this into the free time that you have, be it at home, or on the move. Remember, knowledge is power, so get your credentials.

Create a strategy

Before you arrive, think about a few specific messages that you want to convey to the interviewer. Make a connection between what you’ve done previously, and how that will work towards this job role. People much prefer listening to a story than having short bits of information thrown at them like a robot. Avoid sounding monotone as this is boring and you won’t draw anyone in that way. Make everything you say interesting and exciting so they don’t want to stop conversing with you.

Highlight your potential

As much as you would like to be perfect – the perfect candidate just doesn’t exist. So rather than trying to make excuses or good reasons in the areas that you may be lacking – focus on the things that you’re awesome at. It’s far more effective to big up what you know you’re good at than trying to make up for what you don’t. If the interviewer brings up those areas, demonstrate how you have a great ability to learn and overcome struggles, and adapting to new situations that you are faced with.

The first half a minute

People always talk about the first impressions being the most important, and they are. Within the first thirty seconds, people will form an opinion about you – this isn’t their fault, it’s just what our brains do. They will watch you walk into a room, they will listen to how you speak, and they will see how comfortable you look as you take a seat, so the way you do these three things are very important. Engage in eye contact, maintain a good posture, speak clearly, and think confidently – even if you don’t necessarily feel very confident, fake it. If you’re worried about how you’ll look, record yourself at home and see how you appear. You don’t have to tell anyone you’ve done this, but it can really give you an insight into how you look to others.

Think fast when you need to

No matter how hard you prepare for an interview, you can never predict how things are going to go – you can’t envision the future, so you need to be ready for anything. In order to do that, you need to learn how to keep on your toes. You will need to learn how to tweak your performance to play to various situations of how everything will play out. You may need to mix up your answers just in case they take a different direction than you had expected them to. One good tip, is that a lot of interviewers tend to like the sound of their own voice, so give them centre stage until they pass on the torch.

The most import thing is staying focus and calm. The last thing you want to do is turn up on the day a nervous wreck who can barely speak because you’re so consumed by stress and anxiety. At the end of the day – you’re just having a chat with another human being. That’s it. So don’t overthink it. And if you don’t end up getting the job, know that there will be others.

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